The good thing about a very chatty class is that they are social and love to talk to each other! The bad thing about a very chatty class is that they can be a bit too social.
The trick is to channel that chatter in positive, engaging ways. Here are 15 tips.
1 – Teach and practice your attention-getting signal. Whether you use a bell, a chime, a doorbell, or a raised hand – whatever your signal is, teach your students that when you use the signal, their job is to stop talking, stop moving, and look at you for further directions. Model this. Then practice, practice, practice by having them talk and be noisy until they see or hear your signal. Watch to make sure that everyone is quiet and attentive. Expect 100% compliance. Praise them when they get it “right.”
Make this a very clear expectation. This video is a great model.
2 – Another tried-and-true strategy: count down from five. (Or any other number you want to use.) A good signal is to say, “Everyone will be quiet and ready to listen when I get to one.”
3 – A great way to ask for silence and incorporate mindful breathing is to say, “If you can hear me, take a deep breath.” Do this a couple of times if needed.
4 – Simon Says works too! “If you can hear me, touch your ear. If you can hear me, touch your nose.” Make your voice progressively softer each time.
5 – Make your expectations clear about noise level expectations, such as when it is appropriate to talk and when it is not. You will also want to explain appropriate voice levels for different work times. This anchor chart is a great example.
6 – If you choose to use a warning system (such as one warning about talking before you will have to change seats), teach that explicitly as well.
It’s important to follow through and be consistent every single time. Be calm and fair. Over time, your students will see that you say what you mean and mean what you say. When they see that you will always do what you said you will do, they will (eventually) hop on board.
7 – Use a timer for “practicing” being quiet or silent at certain times. This helps build stamina for quiet work time.
8 – Some teachers enjoy using a noise monitor to help students see when their sound has reached an unacceptable limit. Here’s a free version. And here’s another favorite.
9 – Sometimes, students end up talking because their friends start talking to them, and they don’t want to be rude. Talk about this and how it happens to everyone! But then talk about ways to use hand gestures to signal to your friend that you can’t talk right now.
10 – Schedule “talking time” (preferably with movement opportunities) into your lesson plans. I think of it the same way I introduce a math manipulative and allow students to “play” with it for a while before we use it for the math lesson.
11 – Incorporate engagement strategies into your lessons. These opportunities allow students to talk and give some purpose to their conversations. If you want some suggestions, download my list of engagement strategies HERE!
12 – Along with engagement strategies, keep your direct instruction lessons short and to the point. Writing down bullet points of what I need to communicate in a lesson works best for me. Aaron Burr’s advice to Alexander Hamilton – “Talk less, smile more” – from the musical “Hamilton” is worth keeping in mind.
13 – Use calming and mindfulness strategies before starting lessons, especially if a lesson comes after a transition (such as returning from specials, lunch, or recess).
14 – When you are ready to transition or give directions, stand still, smile, and state the direction.
15 – Refuse to talk over your students.
You’ll feel like you’re waiting all day, but if you continue to talk over them, they will continue to talk and ignore you.
This is tough because if you have a class that is talking non-stop, you might feel like you are wasting a lot of time waiting for them to quiet down before you speak. But, the more you continue to talk over them, the more they will continue to talk over you.
I have learned that the best way to handle this is to make it into a competition. Record the time it took for them to get quiet. Then, challenge them to beat their time the next time you ask for their attention. Give them back the time they “saved” by giving them free time to talk at the end of the lesson or the end of the day. Another option is to offer that time in the form of extra recess.
A chatty class can be channeled in a positive direction! Be calm, be consistent, talk less, and smile more. Let me know how these strategies work for you!
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